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    Monday, July 10, 2017

    Veal Orloff - Veal Roast That Can Wait

    Veal Prince Orloff, Veal Prince Orlov, Veal Orloff, or Veal Orlov is a 19th-century dish of Russian cuisine, which was created by the French chef Urbain Dubois in the employ of Prince Orloff, 
    former Russian ambassador to France.  Source Wikipedia 
    The secret of this dish is in making a very tasty stuffing, which is slathered over slices of perfectly cooked Veal,  Covered with Cheese sauce and can be prepared earlier in the day and baked just before dinner is needed

    Make ahead, in fact it is probably better, so that flavours meld
    I was inspired by Julia Child and it was excellent
    You can buy the meat especially, to make this dish or 
    Even better, on this occasion I had a piece of Lamb Rump
    leftover from dinner the previous night
    Why not improvise and use Lamb instead of Veal, so I did
    Got the thumbs up from my Lodger
    I served it with Mashed Potatoes and Mrs Child’s idea for tarting up Frozen Peas
    Recipe below


    I will give the instructions to make the "stuffing" first
    This can be made and put aside until needed
    It is made up of of Rice and Onion Puree
    Chopped Mushroom Sauce
    and a good old Bechamel Sauce

    Please don't be put off by the steps, it is worth it

    First prepare the Soubise (Rice and onions)
    ¼ cup raw white rice
    1 litre boiling water
    1 Tb salt


    Drop the rice into boiling salted water.
    Boil 5 minutes. Drain.

    3 Tb butter
    A 6- to 8-cup, heavy, fireproof casserole with cover
    1 lb. (3½ cups) sliced yellow onions
    ½ tsp salt


    Melt the butter in a pan
    Stir in the onions and salt, and coat well with butter; 

    stir in the rice.
    Cover and cook over very low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour,
    until the rice and onions are very tender but not browned.
    Keep an eye on it and if the mix is getting too brown add some water
    Puree in a blender and set aside

    The Mushroom Duxelles
    250 gms finely minced fresh mushrooms (makes 2 cups)
    3 Tb minced shallots or green onions
    2 Tb butter
    1 Tb oil


    An 8-inch heavy-bottomed skillet
    Salt and pepper

    Melt the butter and the Oil in the hot pan
    Add onions and mushrooms
    Toss together and cook for about 5-6 minutes until  all juices are absorbed
    Season with Salt and Pepper
    Set aside

    Make the Béchamel Sauce
    Take a  heavy-bottomed saucepan

    6 Tb butter
    8 Tb flour
    3 Cups Hot Milk
    1 Bay leaf
    Sea salt and Freshly Ground Black pepper
    Pinch of nutmeg


    ½ cup whipping cream
    1/2 cup Grated Cheese
    Extra grated Cheese for topping

    Infuse the milk with Bay Leaf and good grind of Pepper 
    Use the microwave for this so so simple

    Melt the butter in the saucepan.
    Stir in the flour and cook slowly together, stirring,
    until they foam for 2 minutes without coloring.
    Remove from heat,
    pour in all the hot liquid at once and beat vigorously with wire whip.
    Beat in the seasonings.
    Bring to the boil, stirring, and boil for 1 minute.
    Correct seasoning.
    Sauce will be very thick.
    Pour 1 cup of sauce into the cooked rice and onions.

    Add mushrooms to the onion and rice mix

    Beat the cream into the rest of the sauce and set aside

    Now you are ready to assemble

    Slice the roast meat into neat serving slices about 3/16 of an inch thick,
    piling them to one side in the order in which you sliced them.
    The roast is now to be returned in slices to the serving platter:
    Place the last slice you carved in the platter,
    sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper,
    then spread with a spoonful of the filling.
    Overlap the next slice of veal on the first, sprinkle with salt and pepper,
    spread with filling, and continue thus down the length of the platter.
    Spread any extra filling around and over the meat.
    Take the remaining Béchamel Sauce and warm it up
    You may need to add a little more cream or milk if necessary
    Take off heat
    Add the 1/3 cup grated cheese
    Beat well till cheese melted

    Spoon over the meat
    Cover with extra grated cheese
    About 30 to 40 minutes before serving, set in the upper position of a preheated, 180 C-degree oven until the sauce is bubbling and the top has browned lightly.
    Do not overcook, or the meat will dry out and lose character.

    Once ready, the dish will stay warm for 20 to 30 minutes in the turned-off hot oven, its door ajar.

    So to make the best Pureed/Mashed Potatoes
    This may sound strange but I got this idea from another Cooking Icon
    Delia Smith
    Beat your cooked potatoes with a hand held electric Beater
    It's a bit hard to give exact quantities, so this a rule of thumb way to cook


    1 med Potato per person, more for greedy people
    Milk
    Butter
    Freshly Ground Black Pepper

    Peel and cut potatoes into large cubes
    Put into cold salted water
    Bring to boil and simmer till fork tender

    Drain
    Back onto the heat
    add enough milk to just cover the bottom of the pan
    Get out your handbeater and start slowly to beat
    Start adding  knobs of cold butter, till it reaches the consistency that you like

    Season with Freshly Ground Black Pepper

    Now
    How To Make Frozen Peas a bit more exciting
    This method of cooking frozen peas gives them the character they often lack.
    Use two pans when you are cooking more than two 500 gms packs of peas;
    if too many peas are cooked in one pan,
    the cooking liquid will not evaporate by the time the peas are done.
    For each 500 gm package of frozen peas:
    1 Tb butter
    1 Tb minced shallots or green onions
    ¼ tsp salt
    Pinch of pepper
    ½ cup chicken stock or canned chicken or mushroom broth, or water


    Allow the peas to thaw enough so they can be separated.
    Bring the butter, shallots or green onions, seasonings, and liquid to the boil in a pan. 
    Add the peas, cover, and boil slowly for 5 to 6 minutes or until the peas are tender.
    Uncover and rapidly boil off any remaining liquid.
    Correct seasoning.
    Put peas and potatoes in serving dishes
    Maybe a little more  butter on the Potatoes
    Voila... Dinner is served
    Devour. It is fantastic

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